abatir
to knock down
verb ah-bah-TEER Rare
Origin: From Latin abbattuere ('to beat down'), via Old French.
Also means
to demoralize
Usage Note
Abatir has two main senses: physical (to bring down, shoot down — abatir un avión) and psychological (to discourage or crush someone's spirit). The reflexive abatirse sobre means to swoop down on (as a bird of prey), which is a vivid literary use. Do not confuse with abatido, the past participle used as an adjective meaning 'downcast' or 'dejected'.
Examples
"Las malas noticias lo abatieron por completo."
Natural Translation
The bad news completely demoralized him.

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